If you’re being treated rudely by a crew member of a major airline, you cannot confront them directly. The laws favor the flight crews and you could be arrested. But you can use consumer tech – and thousands do.

To be fair, there are vastly more kind and caring airline crew members than not. Most work hard and long hours. And often, passengers are abusive. But, on rare occasions, so is a flight attendant.

Social media and smartphones have changed everything.

Remember this video of a passenger being taken off a flight? His seatmates were the documenters, and it created a furor.

Believe you’re being treated unfairly? You, or any of your traveling party, may video the encounter. If you’re in the right, they’ll be no room to spin the story. And if you’re wrong, trust me. It will be quite a learning experience.

The airlines know that smartphones are everywhere. And should a crew member insist that you stop recording, you can bet that 10 more passengers will start in your place.